Page 8 of Ready or Not
He ate the last bit of his viagra empanada—an empanada made with seafood. "I’m making sure you don't walk around with sauce on your face all night, Spill-prone." Leaning in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Unless that’s your thing, then,” he licked his lips and winked. “I could always help you with that.”
I nearly choked on my drink at his words, and he leaned back again in his seat, bursting out laughing.
“Let me stop.” He raised his hands in mock surrender, and I threw a napkin at him, which he caught with a smug grin.
“You are something else.” I shook my head, trying to suppress my own laughter as I continued eating.
He snickered, taking a sip of his mango juice. “I’m taking that as a good thing.”
“Take it however you wanna take it, Mr. Flirt.”
“Huh.” He crossed his arms, wiggling his eyebrows. “Mr. Flirt? I kinda like it.”
I playfully scoffed as I finished off my empanada, looking at him through lowered lashes.
This man was proving to be more captivating than I had anticipated, his easy charm and quick wit drawing me in without much effort.
After a moment of comfortable silence between us while we finished our meals, he cleared his throat and looked at me intently. “So, Butterfingers?—”
Him and his nicknames.“You like getting me riled up, don’t you?”
“I plead the fifth, buuuut…” He pouted, his voice turning teasing. “It’s kind of fun to see your reactions…” I noticed a shift in his gaze then, something softer. “But if you don’t seriously like them, then I can stop.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I mean, they’re growing on me…” I trailed off, realizing how easily I admitted that. Desi’s eyes sparkled as he leaned back in his seat, his smile widening.
“I knew it,” He exclaimed triumphantly, making me laugh at his playfulness. “But hey, if you ever want me to stop, just say the word.”
“Noted,” I replied with a grin. “But you do realize that means you’ll have to come up with new ones, right?”
“Oh, the challenge has been accepted, Butterfly,” he said with a wink.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the new addition to his ever-growing list of pet names for me. “Butterfly now, huh?”
“Consider Butterfly an upgrade.”
I let out a laugh, shaking my head in mock exasperation. “Lucky me.”
“Well, in that case…” He rose from his seat and extended his hand towards me. “Shall we get going, my Butterfly?”
I placed my hand in his, feeling a tingle run up my arm at his touch. “Where are we going?”
“Don’t worry,” he said as he led me towards the exit after throwing away our trash and opening the door for me. “It’s a surprise.”
5 /DESIDERIO
“I have a question,”Solène said as we walked the block towards the L train entrance.
“Ask away.”
“Other than my name and age… You haven’t asked me anything else about myself.”
“I have my reasons.”
Looking down at her, I saw her expression shift to one of curiosity, so I decided to satisfy her unasked question.
“I haven’t asked ‘cause I learn people from their actions,” I continued, maneuvering her out of the flow of nightly pedestrian traffic with a gentle hand on her back. “I observe and it tells me everything I need to know about a person.”
“Like?”
